The Makati City local government announced the creation of a task force aimed at monitoring monkeypox cases in the city and help prevent any viral respiratory infections from spreading.
Despite the city not detecting any monkeypox case, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said the creation of the task force is part of its proactive campaign against the growing threat of the virus that is currently spreading even among countries where it is not endemic.
"We formed a task force last August 3 to proactively prevent monkeypox transmission in Makati. At the same time, we want to equip Makatizens with the right information about the virus and avoid the spread of fake news," Binay said.
On June 7 and 23, the Makati City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) has conducted online orientations and seminars for frontliners in 26 barangay health centers to tackle and increase their knowledge about monkeypox's modes of transmission, prevention, detection, isolation, and treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had earlier said that monkeypox is a virus with symptoms similar to smallpox. Monkeypox symptoms include fever, intense headache, swelling of lymph nodes, back pain, muscle ache, lack of energy, and rash that can be found on the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, eyes, mouth, throat, groin, and genital and/or anal regions.
Binay assured that the CESU is in close coordination with the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) to monitor cases and had met with officials of the Makati Medical Center (MMC) and St. Clare's Medical Center to discuss the city's action plan in case of a monkeypox outbreak.
She said Makati's action plan against the virus includes CESU's referral of suspected cases of monkeypox to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for proper testing. If a person tests positive for monkeypox, CESU plans to use one of the three buildings of the Makati Friendship Suites in Barangay Cembo to monitor, isolate, and treat the patient.
Makati City Yellow Card holders who will be infected with monkeypox will also be provided with free medicines and food packs by the city government.
Binay urged Makatizens and non-resident workers to report persons with monkeypox symptoms to CESU through hotlines (02) 8870-1445, (02) 8870-1446, 09270727794, 09280492927, and 09396756390.
Due to the almost similar mode of transmission between the monkeypox virus and Covid-19, Binay said the city is also planning to integrate monkeypox data into its Covid-19 tracker to streamline its monitoring and response procedures such as the implementation of granular lockdowns to prevent community transmission.
She urged her constituents to follow the minimum public health protocols.
On July 29, the country detected its first case of monkeypox from a citizen who returned to the Philippines from abroad.
In a media briefing, Department of Health Undersecretary Beverly Ho said the person had previously traveled to countries with documented monkeypox cases. The individual, as well as the person's close contacts, have been quarantined and are already tagged as recovered.
"Our (public health surveillance) systems are in place. But we all need to work together. We need also the public to be vigilant," Ho said.
"Based on what we know about monkeypox, there is a very clear need to be more careful about who we interact with, particularly sexual, intimate contact," Ho explained as she added that they are now coordinating with various groups about the said virus after studies pointed out that most - but not all - cases in the current monkeypox outbreak were men who have sex with men.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 98 percent of infected people were gay or bisexual men, and 95 percent of cases were transmitted through sexual activity. However, experts said the transmission of the disease appears to mainly happen during close, physical contact, and monkeypox has so far not been labelled a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
“We’re working closely with those groups so they will have better preparations, risk perception that this is a disease that would probably concern them more than the general population,” Ho said.
The WHO said the virus has already spread to around 70 countries where it is not endemic, prompting it to declare the outbreak as a global health emergency.